Category: Uncategorized

Well, today's the day. Today you will stand in front of friends, family to marry Doug Odell, your best friend. Yes, it's hot, yes, you're six months pregnant and would rather be in shorts and a t-shirt. You can change after the ceremony.

You're frightened you're making another mistake; after all, this is your second go at marriage and we both know how well the first one turned out. Hang tight. You made the right choice. 21 years later, you are still together. Oh, there have been ups and downs, but in the end the good far outweighs the bad. I know, I know, it sounds cliche. It isn't. Trust me on this. I've lived the life that is ahead of you. I know these things.

As I write this, it is 2:38AM, Tuesday, and I should have been asleep five hours ago. Instead, I'm flirting with insomnia, rather, it's flirting with me and I wish it would go the hell away and let me sleep.

What do I do when I can't sleep? Drink cocoa (don't have any), read comics (did that), maybe play a hand or two of solitaire (won both). Beyond that. . .I think. I can't help it, I'm a writer. Ze Frank should do a "True Facts About Writers" video because thinking is how writers do. Tell him I said so.

Where was I? Right. When I can't sleep, I think, and late night thoughts are perhaps the oddest. Take those bits and bobs we don't often share with others, not out of any need for secrecy, but because we simply don't think about sharing. Such as:

I like peanut butter on hotdogs. And hamburgers. Not with any other condiment. That would be weird.

After a shower, I use a Q-Tip to dry the inside of I my belly button.

I am often held hostage by the sound of rain on a windshield. One of the best sounds for napping.

I once made chocolate/roasted garlic fudge. Didn't have much of a garlic taste the first day, but after that. . .*swoon*. No one else liked it. More for me.

I enjoy watching items decay, wear away, crumble. A candle lit and left burning until the wick dies is a thing of beauty.

If you don't already know me, allow me a brief introduction. My name is Sandra Odell, and I am a smart mouth, troublemaker who writes, advocates, and eats chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. In 2010 I attended Clarion West, and in 2012 Hydra House Books released my holiday short story collection THE TWELVE WAYS OF CHRISTMAS. I am represented by Caitlin MacDonald of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Um...what else?

You aren't a disappointment. You are super great, and if people get down on you for not being perfect all the time then bite their faces off. You are super great, and faces are high in protein. All views and opinions expressed by me are my own and super great. Super. Great.